Chapter 57: Done for, Done for, This Receipt Makes My Scalp Tingle

To ensure they clearly understood his strategic intent and to avoid coordination errors, Fang Xinghe had to explain in even greater detail.

"First, my new book cannot be released at the same time as the New Concept Essay Collection; it is best if it comes out one month after.

Second, if you release my negative news now, you are essentially working for free for the New Concept, letting them reap all the benefits. By the time my work is released, I will likely be plagued by scandals, losing fans on a massive scale, and selling poorly instead.

Third, I dislike the current nature of the hype and do not want to stir up the public with an even bigger news story. Waste is one thing, but it is also particularly easy to backfire.

Fourth, what has been done will eventually be exposed; it cannot be hidden forever. But I am confident that my new book will offset the scandals to the greatest extent, so the best landing plan is to let these two things happen simultaneously.

Can you understand my logic?

All you need to do is help me buy time, convince the media colleagues following this matter that there is no so-called big scoop, drag it out for two months, and the 50,000 yuan will be your windfall.

If you can handle the matter more brilliantly, then maintaining a long-term cooperative relationship and getting first-hand information from me that is inconvenient to release through regular channels is also possible.

How about it? Will you take this money?"

"Damn!"

Dark Circles slammed the table and jumped up, so excited that the circles under his eyes were no longer black but turning green.

"Why wouldn't we take it? Fang Shao, from now on, I am your man!"

Ew, gross, how are you talking?

Before Fang Zong could make any move, Dark Circles turned his head and, with great emotion, began to persuade Bald Head: "Brother Gan, don't be stubborn with yourself. We each get 25,000; that's several years' wages!"

Bald Head was not unmoved; he simply still had reservations.

"Fang Shao, I certainly want to cooperate, but there is still one problem with this matter—we can spread false news and stop most people, but there will always be a few individuals who refuse to believe the rumors and come sniffing around on their own..."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Fang Xinghe waved his hand and spoke calmly: "Since I have decided to do this, then from today on, no reporters from out of town will be able to get close to that family of three."

How simple is that?

His good cousin has an entire school of young boys helping to keep watch.

As for Uncle's home, Xiao Long and the others are bored out of their minds every day; for 100 yuan a day, if a few people are posted to tail them, they can count exactly how many mice have entered the house.

Finally, Uncle's workplace... Should I complain to the old man, or should I whisper to the county leaders?

Fang Xinghe never intended to drag this matter out indefinitely; he only wanted to buy two or three months of time, so applying pressure from any angle could be easily handled.

His calmness was so powerful that in an instant, Bald Head and Dark Circles were completely convinced.

"Fine, we are willing to cooperate, but I must say the ugly truth upfront—I only work when I see the money."

"Don't blame us for being realistic; 50,000 is not a small sum..."

Fang Xinghe waved his hand, not letting them explain further.

"You can start writing the new draft now. My friend will stay here with you and temporarily hold your phones.

Tomorrow morning, I will come to find you with the full payment.

Once you fax the draft back and it is published in the newspaper, my friend will take the money and escort you both back to the Imperial Capital, seeing you home.

Finally, you write a receipt according to the format, sign it, and press your fingerprint, and we will be even.

As for whether we can cooperate again afterwards...

We will discuss each matter separately; it depends on how well you handle this one.

To state an unkind but plain truth, I do not lack media resources, nor do I need to gather a bunch of trash to provide them with poverty alleviation. Therefore, only if there is value will there be a next time."

With the transaction basically confirmed, Fang Xinghe's harshness finally showed itself... a small part of it.

It felt very humiliating, but essentially it was not for the purpose of humiliation.

Dealing with thirty-somethings at the age of fourteen, with over a thousand kilometers of distance in between, politeness cannot guarantee loyalty; only dominance can protect rights.

Pan Hong has some famous words: rough words, but sound reasoning: if you feed them and pay to keep them, you must make clear who is the master.

And the rigorous logic, the slightly harsh "awakening," could effectively boost their confidence and increase the probability of them persisting until the very last moment.

Bald Head and Dark Circles exchanged one last glance; at this moment, their eyes were filled with excitement, and probing deeper, one could even detect a hint of wariness toward each other.

If I take the money but don't deliver, will he report me?

If he takes the money but doesn't deliver, should I report him?

After similar stray thoughts flashed through their minds, the two remained friends, but they were no longer completely on the same side.

A frontline reporter, sounding good in name, is actually nothing like a chief editor sitting in an office writing drafts.

They had no confidence at all in whether Fang Xinghe's new book could be written that awesome; they simply did not have the qualification to regard 25,000 yuan as a small sum.

Thus, that was enough.

The most direct evidence was this—when they nodded heavily and began to express their loyalty, under the projection of the Starlight Panel, a lustrous white light emanated from their bodies.

This meant that two people who originally had ill intentions not only genuinely agreed to the transaction but were also subdued by Fang Xinghe, becoming Light Pink Fans.

Level One Fans were not necessarily so worshipful, but this change itself meant very, very much...

After handling this matter, Fang Xinghe walked out of the inn alone.

Just as he reached the downstairs, he was stopped by a middle-aged man.

"Fang Shao!"

The middle-aged man sported a typical Northeast "bullet cut," shaved around the sides to reveal green stubble, a short layer on top, a thick gold chain around his neck, and a leather briefcase tucked under his arm.

Classic, too classic.

Fang Xinghe, already very familiar with the current era, knew that in the Northeast, this was a hairstyle only big brothers of a certain status could possess.

He stopped, turned his head to look, and waited calmly for the move.

"I am Wang Ye!"

The middle-aged man hurried forward two steps, extending his right hand from a distance, his smile overflowing with enthusiasm.

"I heard you graced my small shop with your presence, so I hurried over to take a look. No other business, just wanted to meet our great talent. Oh my, you are even more handsome in person than in the rumors... How about it? Did things go smoothly?"

Wang Ye was very polite, but his speech was half-classical and half-vernacular, quite awkward.

"Hello." Fang Xinghe did not extend his hand, merely nodded, "It went smoothly, sorry to have troubled you."

"What are you talking about, what are you talking about? We are all family, nothing was broken, where is the trouble?"

Wang Ye chuckled, withdrew his hand, opened his bag, and took out a business card.

"In the future, if anything happens in this area in front of the station, just call Brother Wang. The hotels, hair salons, and video halls here, although not all opened by me, all have to give me a little face!"

Fang Xinghe took the business card, spun it twice between his fingers, did not look down at it, but coldly scrutinized Wang Ye himself.

Scrutiny usually implies coldness, devoid of emotion.

He harbored vigilance against anyone who actively approached him; the reason it was displayed outwardly rather than hidden was mainly because he was too lazy to bother.

"Thank you." Fang Xinghe finally just nodded, neither unfriendly nor hostile, "Stay."

He then turned and walked toward the main gate.

Until his figure disappeared into the night, a subordinate finally approached, standing behind Wang Ye.

"Big Brother..."

"Isn't our little fellow townsman awesome?"

"Yeah, awesome."

"It's not easy!" Wang Ye shook his head, deeply emotional, "Do you know what to do if you see him near the station in the future?"

"I know. Help if there's trouble, stay away if there isn't."

"I knew you were the material for this! Good, just do it this way. From now on, I'll leave all the business in this area to you. Be polite to those little bastards too."

"Understood!"

Wang Ye rubbed his belly, satisfied, and walked toward the back door.

Halfway there, he suddenly turned back: "By the way, unplug the telephone line at the front desk."

The subordinate understood immediately, turned around, and sat behind the counter: "Rest assured, I'll watch it personally."

Wang Ye laughed heartily, gave a thumbs-up, turned around with light steps, and hummed a little tune.

Just when he learned that Fang Xinghe had brought people to his own hotel, he was truly startled, sweat breaking out in cold beads.

There are always people who think the so-called social big brothers are incredibly awesome, ruling supreme on their own turf, doing whatever they want to whoever they want.

But actually, big brothers who have made a name for themselves in the underworld fear crazy little bastards the most, followed by the authorities.

Fang Xinghe alone possessed both traits; he had already been marked in the county town's gray area, wherever he went he was like a plague god—both a plague and a god.

If nothing happened, then quickly escort him out with courtesy; if something happened, help smooth it over with tears in his eyes.

As for the two reporters from the capital upstairs... sorry, if you have any issues, please call the police.

If Bald Head and Black Eyes are dissatisfied in their hearts and secretly look for opportunities to beg the hotel for help... that would certainly be quite a show.

But Director Fang's kung fu was truly too good; the two of them really obediently wrote the draft, stayed up all night, and finally produced a perfect, flawless statement.

Working so hard it was heartbreaking...

The next day, after Fang Xinghe finished practicing his kung fu, he paged Xiao Long, then headed straight for the bank.

Last night he did not contact Xiao Long again. Drinking what alcohol? Drinking with those tiger girls is so damn dangerous; only a sick person would really try to get close to them.

Keeping distance, maintaining it with money, is quite good enough.

Arriving at the Construction Bank outlet, he was surrounded by the sisters again; someone started it, so they all took out notebooks and asked him to sign.

Outside, he certainly did not have such widespread fame and popularity; in the county, it was indeed different.

The benefit was that the originally quite troublesome money-withdrawal process was greatly simplified because of this.

The drawback was sore hands.

He withdrew 55,000 yuan, stuffed 5,000 separately into his bag, put 50,000 into a kraft paper envelope, took a taxi back to the hotel.

At this time, Bald Head and Black Eyes had already finished writing the new draft.

The two brothers stared hopefully at Fang Xinghe: "Fang Shao, do you think writing it this way is okay?"

He casually tossed the kraft paper envelope over, picked up the draft, and glanced through it briefly.

Truly a veteran reporter; this job was done really beautifully.

Under their pens, Wang Deli (Uncle) had not a single good word for Fang Xinghe; every answer carried a sour tone, complaining that Fang Xinghe became famous but never came to see us, nagging about how well he treated Fang Xinghe when he was young, and when talking about the sister's death saying, "At that time our family was also in difficulty, but in the end we did help out," and speaking of the present, it was all about how Fang Xinghe made a fortune and how much the exam reward alone was...

The draft overall had many highlights, but they were all trivial matters, and the true meaning reflected was—doesn't this uncle seem like a damn bad person?

Black Eyes explained, "The reason we didn't write the draft from a positive angle is because of our Southern Capital's stance... Before we came out, the higher-ups hinted at this."

"So we can only dig from a slightly negative angle." Bald Head interjected, "We mainly emphasize your rebellious nature and cold personality toward family; only a draft like this can satisfy the higher-ups."

Black Eyes continued, "But we also don't want anyone else to go looking for Wang Deli, so we portray him as a liar and a profit-chasing villain. Once peers see he has nothing substantial and is difficult to deal with, they will likely not go there to look for trouble themselves."

Very good, Fang Xinghe was quite satisfied.

"Okay, fax it."

The group arrived at No. 3 Middle School; Fang Xinghe used his face to open the office building door, then headed straight for Liu Dashan's office—given the relationship between us brothers, what's wrong with using his stuff?

In front of Fang Xinghe, Bald Head made a phone call to his superior.

"Leader, there is really nothing good to dig up here, and we don't know which idiot spread the fake news. Person Fang Xinghe's uncle and he have a bad relationship, but it's mainly just trivial matters about not benefiting from his fame. Damn, I put in three packs of cigarettes and two bottles of wine; the biggest scoop he exploded on me was that Fang Xinghe wet the bed when he was a child!"

Pfft!!!

Blackie and Duoyu quickly turned their heads toward the wall, holding back laughter with heavy breaths.

But the vibe was just right; the editor-in-chief on the other end didn't know what he was babbling about, so Bald Head angrily raised his voice: "Why can't we two go back? What else can we do while wasting time here?"

"Confirmed! Of course I'm confirmed!"

"Who got the news? Tell him to come over and interview personally!"

"We two took turns and still couldn't get it out; what, do you suspect we two took Fang Xinghe's money, right?!"

After another round of "uh-huh, uh-huh," they finally reluctantly agreed: "Alright then, we two will stay a few more days to see... Fang Xinghe closes his door and sees no one; even if there really is an interview opportunity, it wouldn't be our turn anyway..."

"Alright, alright, phone calls are insanely expensive, let's just leave it at that!"

As soon as the call ended, Bald Head immediately looked up at Fang Xinghe with pleading eyes.

Boss Fang gave a thumbs-up: "Not bad, Lao Gan, your acting is truly impressive."

To be honest, if we're talking about naturalistic acting, Bald Head could teach many celebrities a thing or two; although this isn't artistic creation, artistic creation often draws from these slices of life.

"Alright, let's split the money."

Considering their cooperation, Fang Xinghe proactively adjusted the process.

"If you two want to save it, save it; if you want to keep it on you, that's fine too. My two little brothers will accompany you for a while, and the receipt must be written right now."

"OK OK! No problem!"

Black Eyes excitedly blurted out English; in this era, that was somewhat high-class.

The two brothers began writing the receipt according to Fang Xinghe's plan.

【Received today from (General Manager of Zhongtai Hotel, Wang Ye) the sum of fifty thousand RMB, for purchasing all audio, video, and written materials regarding the massive collective orgy organized by Zhongtai Hotel, which I ( ) and ( ) uncovered through undercover investigation. We guarantee no copies remain, nor will we expose or report this to any party. Money and goods exchanged, matters settled from this day forward—August 4, 1999, Signatory: xxx】

As these two big brothers wrote the receipt, sweat poured down them; a single wipe yielded a handful.

During this, they opened their mouths several times, appearing to want to say something, only to painfully close them again in the end, uttering nothing.

Hei Zi and Duoyu stood dumbfounded, grinning with mouths wide open as if their jaws had dislocated.

Bro, you're playing way too wild!

Is this even possible?!

The two lads couldn't hold back, muttering: "Bro, Wang Ye has quite a bit of clout on the streets..."

"I know," Fang Xinghe casually lifted an eyelid, "Isn't that perfect?"

"Then you let him take the fall; once he finds out..."

"Who signed the paper? He'll go after whoever signed it. I'm not the one taking the money."

Fang Xinghe turned his head, smiling brightly at the two older brothers, and teased: "Besides, how could two big brothers like you be so stupid as to give that scoundrel a chance to chase you for debt?"

"Ah, yes, yes!"

Black Eyes and Bald Head nodded frantically, obediently placing their hands on their laps like elementary school students.

Rest assured, Fang Shao, we two brothers are very sensible!

Fang Xinghe put away the receipt with fingerprints, nodded with a smile: "Gan Ge, Ke Ge, from now on we are one family. Relax and enjoy your vacation; if anything comes up, just order them around."

Afterwards, he instructed Duoyu: "You two must fulfill your duties as hosts..."

"Rest assured, Big Brother!"

Hei Zi's eyes sparkled, so excited he kept licking his lips.

Take care of them?

No, no, no! This young master eats your food, drinks your drinks, and plays with your toys; if you dare make any moves, I'll still beat you up!

If you dare mess with my brother, a death sentence might be spared, but a living punishment is unavoidable.

When Fang Xinghe returned home, Xiao Long was standing at the door with two underlings, having waited quite a while.

"Fang Shao!"

The three brothers had changed into new clothes, shaved their beards, and styled their hair into neat, upright spikes; they looked at least five points more handsome.

"Very good, very spirited."

Fang Xinghe patted Xiao Long's shoulder and led them into the small courtyard.

"There's something I'm assigning to you..."

After a brief explanation, when he mentioned twenty-five yuan per person per day, the young men got excited again.

Enough for cigarettes and meals, enough to play arcade games all day, but not enough for alcohol—however, with two people per group, two groups totaling four people, pooling their money would be enough for a nice drink.

This was the most appropriate standard Fang Xinghe had carefully calculated after deliberate control.

Give too little and there's no motivation; give too much and bad habits easily form. Now, it perfectly balances motivation and discipline.

Fang Xinghe warned again: "Keep a close watch, but don't use force. If anything is uncertain, call me to handle it."

"Understood, just rest assured; we'll definitely get it done properly!"

Xiao Long swore an oath, patting his chest so hard it went boom-boom.

This guy is so loud and boisterous, he doesn't look reliable, but actually, at his age, he's already quite dependable in his actions.

Fang Xinghe had nothing to worry about; he counted out seven hundred yuan, told them to start work tomorrow, and leisurely returned to continue writing his book.

Everything that could be done has been done; as for how to play next...

Listen to my orders.